YEREVAN. – Armenian National Assembly (NA) Speaker Samvel Nikoyan is preparing to spend the last days of his NA chairmanship in traveling, Zhoghovurd daily writes. 

“Yesterday [Monday] he left for Almaty to attend the anniversary session of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States [CIS]. Although, according to NA’s official website, the Armenian delegation includes NA MPs Gagik Minasyan and Hermine Naghdalyan, Zhoghovurd was able to ascertain that [the ruling coalition’s Republican Party of Armenia] RPA MP Areg Ghukasyan—whose name is not on the official statement—likewise headed to Almaty.  

Incidentally, solely Naghdalyan will return to [the Armenian capital] Yerevan from Almaty. Samvel Nikoyan, Gagik Minasyan, and Areg Ghukasyan, on the other hand, are preparing to also head for the United Arab Emirates [UAE]. At the same time, taking advantage of [President] Serzh Sargsyan’s absence from the country, Nikoyan gave himself a vacation. And we can only guess as to why he is leaving for the UAE,” Zhoghovurd writes.